When I boot with the XP disk and click "R" to access the recovery console, it prompts me for the Administrator Password. But there really IS no administrator password on that machine! And when I try to hit ENTER to move on, it prompts me again for the password (which doesn't exist). 3 tries and it restarts the machine. How can I access the recovery console? I need to access it because when I start up my computer, it says, "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\SYSTEM" and I think that accessing the recovery console might help me fix my problem (but I don't know for sure).

Remove the motherboard battery for a few minutes to reset the BIOS to Default, to see if that removes the password window. Tomorrow the Stars!

Go HERE and scroll down to read Error Message: "WinXP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" Translated: Your WinXP Registry is corrupted and requires restoration. Going into the Recovery Console will not help. i_XpUser

I appreciate the help, but there's a problem. That article instructs me to go to Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 307545, which tells me to use the Recovery Console. It says: 1. Insert the Windows XP startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer. Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so. 2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console. 3. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console. 4. When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER. ---> this is the problem. the password IS blank, but when I press ENTER, it prompts me again for the password, as if I entered the wrong one! So I can't move on the next step. And so on and so forth. Is there a way around this, or another approach to take, perhaps an alternative way to solve this issue?

Oops I should have first read MSKB 307545 before stating that the Rc is not going to help. My apologies. i_XpUser

http://www.theeldergeek.com/recovery_console.htm Recovery Console Password On many XP installations you can't start the Recovery Console because it won't recognize your password. This registry edit causes the Recovery Console not to ask for a password. This works for both XP Home and XP Professional. Start | Run | Regedit Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Setup\RecoveryConsole Set the DWORD SecurityLevel value to 1 Exit Registry and Reboot i_XpUser

XPUser, do you realize what you just said? :) Soylent Green is PEOPLE!!!